Former U.S. Navy officers face negligent homicide charges in collisions

The U.S. Navy has announced that five officers, including two commanders, will face negligent homicide charges connected to separate incidents involving the USS Fitzgerald and the USS John S. McCain that cost 17 sailors their lives.

The disciplinary actions were decided by Adm. Frank Caldwell and are the latest in a series of moves the Navy has made in the aftermath of the deadly collisions, which investigators concluded were avoidable. It fired several top leaders, including the commander of the 7th Fleet, Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin, and several other senior commanders in the Pacific.

The Navy said it is filing at least three charges against four officers of the Fitzgerald, including the commanding officer, who was Cmdr. Bryce Benson at the time. Benson suffered a head injury in the collision and was airlifted to the U.S. Naval Hospital at Yokosuka, Japan. A Navy investigation found that Benson left the ship’s bridge before the collision. Also facing charges are two lieutenants and one lieutenant junior grade, whose names were not disclosed. The Navy said all four face criminal charges, including negligent homicide, dereliction of duty and endangering a ship.

Fewer officers from the McCain are being charged. The Navy said the ship’s commander at the time, Cmdr. Alfredo J. Sanchez, is being charged with negligent homicide, dereliction of duty and endangering a ship. A chief petty officer, whose name was not disclosed, faces a charge of dereliction of duty.

In a statement, Hicks said the announcement of charges Tuesday is “not intended to and does not reflect a determination of guilt or innocence related to any offenses. All individuals alleged to have committed misconduct are entitled to a presumption of innocence.”

In June, the 7th Fleet notified families of the seven sailors who drowned after a 29,060-ton container ship called the ACX Crystal collided with the USS Fitzgerald.

Popular in News

Reader Comments
...

Next Up in Nation & World

Morgan Freeman issued an apology Thursday after eight women accused the Academy Award-winning actor of inappropriate behavior. "Anyone who knows me or has worked with me knows I am not someone who would willingly offend or knowingly make anyone feel uneasy," Freeman said in the statement. "I apologize to anyone who felt uncomfortable...

A man going door to door asking to fingerprint children has alarmed families in Ellsworth, Maine. >> Read more trending news The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook that the man works for a legitimate company, but did not have proper identification showing his name or what company he worked for. In the Facebook post...

by
Cox Media Group National Content Desk and Christine Stapleton and George Bennett, Palm Beach Post

President Donald Trump on Thursday granted late boxer Jack Johnson with a pardon more than 100 years after he was convicted by an all-white jury of taking a white woman across state lines. Several heavyweight boxing champions, both current and former, gathered at the White House on Thursday morning ahead of the expected announcement, The New York Times...

President Donald Trump said in an interview with “Fox and Friends” that football players in the National Football League (NFL) who take a knee during the national anthem “maybe” should not be in the United States. >> Read more trending news “I don’t think people should be staying in locker rooms...

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he remains open to meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, hours after he canceled their planned summit in Singapore in a letter released by White House officials. “I believe that this is a tremendous setback for North Korea and, indeed, a setback for the world,” Trump said Thursday...